LSU Quantum researchers rearrange photon distribution to create different
light sources.
For decades, scholars have believed that the quantum statistical properties
of bosons are preserved in plasmonic systems, and therefore will not create
different form of light.
This rapidly growing field of research focuses on quantum properties of
light and its interaction with matter at the nanoscale level. Stimulated by
experimental work in the possibility of preserving nonclassical correlations
in light-matter interactions mediated by scattering of photons and plasmons,
it has been assumed that similar dynamics underlie the conservation of the
quantum fluctuations that define the nature of light sources. The
possibility of using nanoscale system to create exotic forms of light could
pave the way for next-generation quantum devices. It could also constitute a
novel platform for exploring novel quantum phenomena.
In new findings published in Nature Communications, researchers from
Louisiana State University and four collaborating universities have
introduced a discovery that changes a paradigm in quantum plasmonics by
demonstrating the potential of metallic nanostructures to produce different
forms of light.
Their paper, “Observation of the Modification of Quantum Statistics of
Plasmonic Systems,” written by collaborators from the University of Alabama
in Huntsville, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México and Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa,
demonstrates that the quantum statistics of multiparticle systems are not
always preserved in plasmonic platforms. It also describes the first
observation of the modified quantum statistics.
Lead authors, LSU postdoctoral researcher Chenglong You and LSU graduate
student Mingyuan Hong, show that optical near fields provide additional
scattering paths that can induce complex multiparticle interactions.
“Our findings unveil the possibility of using multiparticle scattering to
perform exquisite control of quantum plasmonic systems,” You said. “This
result redirects an old paradigm in the field of quantum plasmonics where
the fundamental physics uncovered in our discovery will provide a better
understanding of the quantum properties of plasmonic systems, and unveil new
paths to perform control of quantum multiparticle systems.”
Research pursued by the Experimental Quantum Photonics Group at LSU for the
new findings was conducted in Assistant Professor Omar Magaña-Loaiza’s
Quantum Photonics Laboratory.
“We engineered metallic nanostructures, fabricated in gold, to produce
different kinds of light,” Hong said. “Our nanoscale platform exploits
dissipative plasmonic near fields to induce and control complex interactions
in many-body systems of photons. This capability allows us to control at
will the quantum fluctuations of multiphoton systems.”
The possibility of engineering light with different quantum mechanical
properties has enormous implications for multiple quantum technologies.
“For example, our platform enables the reduction of the quantum fluctuations
of multiphoton systems to boost the sensitivity of protocols for quantum
sensing,” Magaña-Loaiza said. “In our lab, we will exploit this exquisite
degree of control to develop quantum simulations of light transport. This
will enable the eventual design of better and more efficient solar cells.”
Reference:
Observation of the modification of quantum statistics of plasmonic systems
by Chenglong You, Mingyuan Hong, Narayan Bhusal, Jinnan Chen, Mario A.
Quiroz-Juárez, Joshua Fabre, Fatemeh Mostafavi, Junpeng Guo, Israel De Leon,
Roberto de J. León-Montiel and Omar S. Magaña-Loaiza, 27 August 2021, Nature
Communications.
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